Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Ash Ketchum, the winner of World Coronation Series, the new Monarch and World Champion, was on a new journey with his trusty and oldest companion Pikachu.

Now it wasn’t really that new for Ash to be on a journey. Ever since he turned ten, he has been traveling around the world, meeting new people and Pokemon. Creating friendships and Pokemon teams. Battling in the leagues and the rivals.

Currently, he was wandering through Kanto region's forests, looking through the map. As much as he loved his home region, he felt like it was time to head somewhere else, though the question remained, where exactly?

"Hm...Paldea sounds fun, and we've never visited it before, but that would mean we have to turn around and find the nearest harbor or airport...I think. Like, I'm pretty sure we're near Mulberry City." Ash spoke to himself as he looked through the map with a troubled expression. Sure, he knew some routes in Kanto pretty well, but map reading has never been his strong suit "What do you think Pikachu?"

"Pikaaa..." Pikachu looked as uncertain as his human partner, as he couldn't understand the map any better.

"All right then!" The young champion declared as he folded the map and pointed forward "I'm certain that if we walk that direction, we can get to Mulberry City! And after that, we look for the best way to get to Paldea. So let's go Pikachu!"

"Pika pi!" His partner shouted in agreement.

Good news, Ash was correct about them being near Mulberry City. Bad news, they went completely in the opposite direction.

Fortunately, they stumbled upon Officer Jenny, who was hunting down some Pokemon hunters, and after helping her catch the bad guys and dropping them off to other officers, she offered them a ride to Mulberry City.

"I can't believe I had the current world champion helping me with my work. Oh, my sister is gonna be so jealous! She loves Pokemon battles and almost passed out from excitement while watching your and Leon's match." She declared happily, making Ash and Pikachu sheepish.

"Hahah, just don't tell her that you found me lost in the forest." He commented. As a reply, Officer Jenny made a zipping lips gesture.

"Your secret is safe with me. But even if I hadn't been there, you would've ended up walking straight to Pewter City, so there wasn't a danger of getting lost from civilization."

"Pewter City?"

"You know that place?"

"Oh yes. My friend Brock's family runs its gym. I got my first-ever badge from there when I first started as a trainer."

"Is that so? If you want, I can't take you there; it's not an issue to turn around."

"Thanks, but I traveled with Brock just a while ago, so there's no need to visit."

"Oh, I see. Come to think of it, I do remember Pewter Gym's gym leader being Brock, but he retired. And the current gym leader is Bores...?"

"Forrest. His little brother, though their father helps out sometimes." Ash answered. As they fell into peaceful conversation, the young champion could help but think about his two old friends.

It had been nice to travel with Misty and Brock again. It made him feel...oddly nostalgic. Reminding how it all began. Traveling through Kanto with Misty and Brock, the Orange Islands with Misty and Tracey, and Johto again with Misty and Brock. Come to think of it, Brock was there for him in Hoenn and Sinnoh as well. Probably the reason why he didn't starve to death. And after him, Cilan and Clemont ended up making sure to keep the traveling groups fed.

Maybe he should learn to cook properly. It would be a great surprise to his friends if he ended up meeting them in the future.

And as Ash thought about purchasing a cookbook, they had safely made their way to Mulberry City.

"-And we're here!" Officer Jenny exclaimed, pulling aside so Ash and Pikachu could get off safely "Good luck at Paldea, and thanks for the autograph! My sister is going to love it!"

"It's nothing, thanks for the lift!" Ash replied, Pikachu happily waving as she drove away. 

The young champion adjusted his hat and looked at his partner "Now Pikachu, it's getting late. Let's go to the Pokemon Center to rest for a night."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed, jumping on his shoulder as Ash started walking towards the Pokémon Center. The last time he was in Mulberry City was back when May participated in the conference, and they actually stayed the night at the Center.

He had barely made his way inside when he felt Rotom Phone vibrate briefly. Someone had sent him a message.

That someone is Brock.

Call me with a public phone when you get to Pokemon Center.

”Brock? What does he want? Hopefully nothing bad has happened.” Ash talked to Pikachu, who let out a worried sound. The pair made their way towards one of the Center’s public phones.

Soon enough, he was greeted by a sight of miniature Brock (Timmy? Jommy? Wait, Tommy) who gasped with excitement.

[Big bro! Champion is calling!] The boy shouted, and a moment later, Ash and Pikachu were greeted by one of their oldest friends, wearing an apron and holding a green tablet.

[Hey Ash. Pikachu. Good to see my message reached you quickly!] Brock said happily, to which Pikachu replied with an excited squeal.

"Brock! How is it going? Did you manage to get back into pokemon doctor program?” Ash asked, which made Brock scratch his neck awkwardly.

[Yes, though it was quite rough, I’m pretty sure my mentors had to lie to the higher-ups by saying I was taking a break due to burnout…] He confessed.

”Well, at least everything turned out to be fine. So what’s the matter? Did something happen?” At Ash’s question, Brock shook his head.

[More like something might happen, and I thought you’d like to know about it. So listen, last week there was my little sister Yolanda’s birthday-]

"Oh, tell her I said happy late birthday!"

[That I'll do. But anyway, she's been really into streaming. You know, watching the coordinators giving styling tips, Iono's gym battle streams, stuff like that. So, as a big brother, I decided to check that there wasn't anything inappropriate. And I went deep Ash, I went REALLY deep.] Ash and Pikachu chuckled at Brock's dramatics before he continued more seriously [And then I stumbled upon this.] He held the tablet close to the screen so Ash could read [It's an upcoming stream from these streamers called Gossip & Chatter, and yeah, those are their names.]

"Let's see...Coming up next week...Living as God's plaything: Ash Ketchum's weird ass life. PART 1…?" Ash read aloud in confusion, Pikachu tilting his head curiously as well "Pika?"

[I know some famous battle and trainer-focused streams have talked about your league battles, but this...this gives me an odd feeling. Not in an exactly good way. Especially when you read the description on their profile] Brock turned the tablet to read it aloud [Join us in our journey as we watch and discuss some of Ash Ketchum’s and his Pikachu's earlier adventures ft. Misty, Brock, Tracey, and the iconic Team Rocket trio. PG-15]

After Brock finished, Ash and Pikachu were left in a flabbergasted silence. 

"...Is it like a document? I thought those were for TV and stuff... And what does it mean by "watching"? My league battles?" He finally asked, but Brock just shrugged his shoulders.

[I don't know, but I find it odd that these people know me, Misty, and Tracey, too. So either they have done their research very well, or something else is going on. Especially since these streamers can't be traced.]

"Eh? Really?"

[Yeah, there's nothing else in their profile. No followers, no videos, not even when they joined. And when I contacted the support, they couldn't even find the account on their servers.]

"Whoa, a little creepy." Ash commented while Pikachu nodded in agreement "So what do you think we should do?"

[Me? What about you? It's your name in the title.]

"Honestly, I don't really know how I should react to this." The young champion admitted with a troubled look that Pikachu mimicked "In the other hand, this is about me, and nobody asked my permission, so isn't that like... a big invasion of my privacy? But on the other hand, I'm kind of curious to see what this is all about."

[I see...to be honest, I'm also curious. And since you defeated Leon, it isn’t that odd that someone looks through your history. But I think we shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet. For all we know, this could be just a prank.]

"That's true. Should we tell Misty and Tracey, though? I feel like they should know since they were also mentioned."

[I agree. So, how about I inform Misty, and you tell Tracey? And next week, we will see what this stream is about. And hopefully nothing gets out of hand.]

It got out of hand. Really, really out of hand.

Not at first, mind you. Ash and Brock did what they decided to do: inform Misty and Tracey. Both of them had been baffled, but also wanted to know what the stream was about. Tracey speculated that Gossip and Chatter had just interviewed people in Kanto and other places and now were sharing what they’d learned. Misty freaked out when she thought of the possibility of someone stalking them through their journeys. But still, she was willing to take an evening off as gym leader to see what the stream was about alongside the boys.

But unfortunately, Tracey innocently mentioned it to Professor Oak, who then told his cousin living in Alola, who told the local Pokemon researcher Professor Kukui, who told his students, who then told their families etc. And to make matters worse, Professor Oak also told his grandson Gary, who was visiting Kanto's other Pokemon researcher Professor Cerise, who informed his daughter, who informed Ash’s former research buddy Goh, and before Ash and Brock realized what was happening, half of the world was hyping up the upcoming stream.

"There goes our "Keep it simple" tactic." Brock sighed as he yet again tried to remind people on social media not to get carried away.

"I'm really sorry this happened!" Tracey apologized again, which was probably his 123rd apology from his place on the floor.

"It's not your fault, well, not as much as it's Professor Oak's blabbermouth." Misty offered him from her seat. She, Ash, Brock, and Tracey were currently back in Pewter City, more precisely, Brock's home. Originally, they had decided to watch the stream on their own, but then Brock's siblings had insisted that they have a watch party. Well, more accurately, they kidnapped them from their respective locations before any of them could protest. And honestly, they were so effective that Ash hoped that none of them would join Team Rocket, or the police wouldn't stand a chance.

He didn't really mind this arrangement. It was nice to see Pikachu catch up with old friends that he hadn't been able to see for a while. Plus, he also didn't need to struggle with technology since Brock's siblings Forrest and Yolanda were the ones to set things up. They were the only siblings Brock allowed to be present while his parents finally did something good and took the younger ones on a camping trip (alongside Brock’s Ludicolo).

Now, if only Tracey could get out of his funk, they could wait for the stream to start.

"Misty is right Tracey, you didn't mean to let things get so out of hand." The young champion comforted the sulking pile that was Tracey. Honestly, he had never seen Professor Oak's assistant this down.

”Thanks guys, but soon enough Professor Oak’s laboratory will be filled with hate mail from all the people who feel deceived.” Tracey lamented as he lifted himself up to go sit next to Ash “How did your other friends react to all of this Ash?”

”Some are mad at me for trying to keep it secret.” The young champion groaned ”And they’re also excited to see what this is all about. And I think some of them are even betting if this is a prank or not.”

”The kids in school are betting too!” Yolanda commented excitedly ”Too bad their parents refused to let them watch since the rating is PG-15.”

”And the only reason I allow you two to see this is because we’re watching it too.” Brock commented as he settled the chips down on the snack table “So even if this turns out to be not a prank, if we see anything too inappropriate-”

“We turn it off, yeah we know.” Forrest commented “And then we watch Ash’s Master Eight matches!”

“Eh? But I thought we’re going to watch My Sweet, Sweet Lady, you know, one of champion Diantha’s movies.” Ash pointed out.

“Sorry, these two insisted.” Brock pointed at his siblings before twirling dramatically “Although it truly tears my heart, as I was looking forward to seeing wonderful and beautiful Diantha sparkle like a diamond. No! She’s more than just a mere diamond, she’s the one-of-a-kind, rare gem-”

At this point, Brock’s trusty Croagunk had had enough and jabbed its love-struck trainer with poison jab, causing him to falter. As the grand finale, Misty grabbed his ear and pulled him to sit between her and Ash.

“How about you cool off a bit?” She suggested dryly to sheepish-looking Brock “But to be honest, I was a little bummed that she lost to Leon. Her Gardevoir is so beautiful.”

“And it’s really strong too. Back in Kalos, I battled it with Greninja, but we never got to finish that match.” Ash looked at Pikachu “Let’s ask her to battle us again if we meet her Pikachu.”

“Pikachu!” His partner agreed, looking fired up. Next to them, Tracey laughed.

“Knowing you two, you will end up meeting her again.” He pointed out “Heck, I’m surprised you didn’t end up meeting any champions or Elite Four members while traveling.”

“Yep, instead we met Latias and Latios, which is basically the same thing.” Misty said, making the teenagers laugh while Brock’s siblings looked at them in amazement.

“Latias...hey, I actually fought Latias once! Inspector Nurse Joy had one.” Forrest remembered.

“Eh really!? What was it like?” Ash asked eagerly.

“It was really strong! I bet she could’ve done well at the World Coronation Series if she had wanted to.” The young gym leader declared.

“Nurse Joy at the Master Eight Tournament...now that would’ve been a sight.” Tracey said aloud. This resulted in a brief silence followed by a round of giggles from everyone. There was something funny with the mental image of Nurse Joy, out of all people, ready to throw hands with the most famous trainers that the world could offer.

“Instead of Ash, champion Leon would’ve faced Nurse Joy.” Misty chuckled.

“Maybe that’s why she wasn’t competing, she was too powerful. Would’ve swiped Leon’s whole team.” Tracey added, barely containing his laugh.

“Champion Leon is there, thinking he got it, then comes Nurse Joy with Mega Latias.” Brock continues dramatically.

“The fight was short, yet unfair.” Ash finished, causing the whole group to burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Galar, Wyndon City

"...Hop, do you ever get a feeling that someone is talking about you behind your back?” Leon, the runner-up of the World Coronation Series and the former “Unbeatable champion”, asked his little brother, who was finishing projecting the stream on the big screen since Leon’s home computer was too small for their entire group to watch comfortably.

“Not really, but then again, I’m not a famous champion.” Hop pointed out, returning to sit between his brother and Wooloo, who let out a bleat. In reply, Leon ruffled his shorter hair affectionately.

“Oh, you’ll be one day. When you finally leave on your own journey.”

“When can I do that? I’m already old enough. And Bea said I got guts.”

“Hm, perhaps the upcoming league?” Leon suggested, making his brother smile in excitement “Maybe it’s good to check on this stream, you might get important tips.”

"But Leon, it could also be a hoax; the wording in that profile is strange." Hop reminded.

But Leon wasn’t bummed out from this possibility “In that case, we watch this- Galar’s Myths and Legends?” He exclaimed as he picked up the DVD “Huh, since when were you interested in myths Hop?”

“Sonia suggested it. Don’t you remember? She’s gonna join us.” His little brother answered.

“...Oh riiight.” Leon remembered. He had ended up inviting her when they stumbled upon each other, and his childhood friend had agreed. And honestly, he was kind of looking forward to spending time with his old travel buddy and friend.

And as if she knew they were talking about her, the doorbell rang, and the young Pokemon professor was at the doorstep holding a big bag.

“Sorry for the wait, it hasn’t started yet, right?” Sonia asked as Hop left her in.

“No, still 30 minutes left.”

“Oh good, do you have bowls to spare? I brought snacks.”

“Really? Aw, sweet!” Hop said with excitement as he led her to the kitchen, Leon watching from his spot.

“He wasn’t that happy when I bought the snacks.” He muttered to his Charizard, who was resting behind him and Wooloo. It just gave him an unimpressed and somewhat judgmental stare, making Leon stand up quickly “Okay, okay, I'll go help, no need to act so judgmental.”

Galar, wild area

Gary Oak, the famous Professor Oak’s grandson, was feeling great. He was currently doing some fieldwork at Galar’s wild area, and after that, he would be traveling to Kalos. And in Kalos, he was hoping to find Blastoisinite for his Blastoise to mega evolve. Something his Blastoise was really looking forward to based on the self-training it was currently doing, though at a safe distance so their camp wouldn’t get harmed.

“You’re really fired up, aren’t you, Blastoise?” Gary asked as he sat down near the campfire with Umbreon “But rest is also important. How about you take a break with us?”

His starter nodded and marched to them, sitting down near the pair. It then pointed curiously at the tablet Gary was holding in his hands.

“Oh yeah, it’s the stream everyone is talking about. Apparently, someone really did good research about Ash, and now they’re revealing it to the world. And I guess they’re also reacting to his old league battles. Wanna watch it together?”

Blastoise nodded eagerly, and even Umbreon let out a noise of agreement.

“Okay, we have to wait 15 minutes more.”

Alola, Aether Foundation

Things were hectic in the Aether Foundation. Or more precisely, in one room of its buildings, as the assistant head chief Faba settled everything up for a large audience.

“I don’t understand why the watch party needs to be here. I’m certain the Pokemon School has all the necessities.” He grumbled, flinching when a few of the students’ Pokemon ran past him while playing, almost tripping him in the process.

“We were meant to, but we had a crazy Joltik invasion today. Electricians were still trying to get power back on when we left.” Sophocles, one of Pokemon School’s students, sighed next to him “President Lusamine was kind enough to lend us a room and a big screen.”

“Well, I guess you kids have helped enough that it would feel wrong to not lend a hand. If only this stupid device connected to the screen!” Faba growled as the connection attempt failed again. The younger boy looked sympathetic.

“Can I take a look? I had this issue once…”

Near them, Sophocles’ classmates Lillie and Mallow watched the pair.

“Sophocles is truly in his element.” Mallow commented before glancing awkwardly where Lillie’s older brother Gladion was sitting alone with a somewhat annoyed expression “Um, so why is your brother sulking like that?”

“He wanted to check this thing by himself, but our parents wanted an adult supervisor just in case.” Lillie replied, gesturing to all the said adults in the room. There was Professor Kukui, his wife Burnet (their baby Lei was currently spending the night with a babysitter), Principal Oak, branch chief Wicke, and of course, Faba.

“Makes sense.” Mallow then leaned in to whisper “You know, Lana said that the rating is PG-15 because we might see Ash butt naked on the screen.”

“Eh!?” Lillie shouted in shock, blood rushing on her face from a scandalous image.

“Of course she was just joking.” Mallow added quickly before looking troubled “But now I kind of can’t stop thinking about it. What if it’s true? What if Lana jinxed it?”

"If we see naked Ash on the screen, we turn it off immediately." Both Lillie and Mallow let out startled yelps as they suddenly heard Professor Burnet near them. And the look on the older woman’s face made them feel intimidated as she clenched her fist fiercely "And after that, I will personally find these Gossip and Chatter, even if it's the last thing I do."

"I fear you have to get in line.” Professor Kukui joined in “I think the whole Alola would have a problem with someone exposing our champion like that. Not to mention Ash’s other friends and family.”

“Speaking of friends, Kiawe and Lana are pretty late.” Mallow spoke up, looking at the clock “Do you guys think they forgot the watch party is here?”

“I don’t think so, but they’re really leaving things to the last minute.” Professor Kukui admitted as he glanced at their setup. Sophocles and Faba got everything worked out and were now relaxing, Faba talking to already seated Wicke and Principal Oak.

“I hope nothing has happened to them…” Professor Burnet said worriedly, but before any of them could pick up the phone and call for the pair, they heard the door opening. And soon enough, they could sigh in relief after seeing the newcomers.

"Lana! Kiawe! Thank goodness you made it- What happened to you!?" Mallow’s joy of seeing her two missing friends was replaced with shock as she saw the state of her friends.

Truly, Lana and Kiawe looked like they had run away from the Tauros herd. More precisely, a very vengeful, stubborn Tauros herd that sucked up all the remaining energy they had to offer.

“Seriously, what happened to you two?” Sophocles questioned as Kiawe and Lana staggered towards the couches.

"Mimo/My sisters." They said simultaneously.

"Eh? What do you mean?" The young teen asked in confusion, receiving an extra exhausted sigh from both of them.

"Harper and Sarah threw massive tantrums after mom put all the devices away, and I refused to take them with me." Lana explained as she flopped down on the couch next to confused Gladion.

"Same with Mimo." Kiawe added with lament, mimicking her by flopping down dramatically "She even refused to say goodbye to me!"

“Was it truly that bad?” Lillie asked with genuine concern, while others felt like the pair was exaggerating.

"You guys don't have younger siblings, you don't understand how massive their tantrums can be.” Lana then glanced at Gladion “Well, you probably could, but I don’t think Lillie really threw any tantrums.”

“...Oh yeah, she did.” He spoke for the first time, not paying attention to his horrified sister as he continued “Like, I remember this one time she had a total meltdown when-!”

“DON’T TELL THEM THAT!!!” Lillie shouted with a deep red face that made people around her laugh.

“As fun as this is, I’d like you all to settle down, the stream is starting in twelve minutes. I recommend using the bathroom now in case you need to.” Faba announced to everyone.

“And in case this all turns out to be a bunch of hoaxes, we’re going to have a movie night with the films you brought. Got it?” Professor Kukui added, and people and their Pokemon cheered in agreement.

Unova, Anville Town

“Ugh, I give up...truly, this search for flavor leads nowhere.” Cilan lamented to himself. He was a man (teen) of many talents and interests, and one of those interests was detective work.

Over the last few days, he had tried to crack a certain case: the identity of Gossip and Chatter. Sure, it wasn’t his usual area of detective work, but as the people failed to track them down, Cilan got interested in seeing if he could figure out the pair’s identities.

The result? Nothing. There was literally nothing at this point that could help to identify the streamers. All the information Cilan found was about the strangeness of everything. How a stream that Brock found by accident couldn’t be banned, it couldn’t be removed. The way everything was worded. The flavor was really off...

“Calm down, they’re probably just really talented hackers who end up discussing Ash’s journeys.” Cilan muttered to himself as he adjusted his phone’s brightness “But I need to take notes just in case.”

Fifteen minutes left until the start.

Sinnoh, a random Pokemon Center

"Okay, are you comfy Piplup?" Dawn asked as she flopped down on the bed. It felt so nice to relax at Pokemon Center after a few weeks on the road. Her starter Piplup seemed to agree, happily bouncing on the bed while she opened her phone.

"Let's see, the link...there! Only ten minutes to go. Are you excited Piplup?"

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted happily, making her smile too.

"I wonder how many people are watching this…"

Sinnoh, Veilstone City

Paul, Ash’s rival during his travels in Sinnoh, was visiting his older brother Reggie.

"Here's your coffee." He said to Reggie, who was working on some kind of paperwork. His brother was a Pokemon breeder, and despite the job mostly focusing on raising Pokemon happy and healthy, it also included paperwork.

“Ah thank you Paul. I needed this.” Reggie thanked him, putting the pen and papers aside and taking the steaming mug in his hands.

“It’s no problem.” Paul replied before frowning at the laptop on the table. What had caught his attention was the sight that had spread around the social media like a wildfire “You’re going to check out that stream?”

Reggie nodded “I thought it wouldn’t hurt, and I could really use a break, or this paperwork will haunt my dreams.”

“Tsk, suit yourself. I’m going to my room if you need me.” Paul replied, walking away.

Or he would’ve if Reggie hadn’t spoken up “Paul?”

“Hm?”

"Your phone screen cracked yesterday when you accidentally dropped it during the training, didn’t it?"

“Yes. What about it?”

"I just thought it's nicer to watch the stream on a laptop rather than a broken screen." The older brother said casually, pulling the chair next to him aside as a silent invitation.

...

Reggie held back a laugh as his little brother groaned in defeat, sitting down.

"How did you figure it out?" Paul asked.

"I'm your big brother, I know these things." Reggie replied “Oh, only eight minutes left.”

Kalos, Lumiose City

Clemont, gym leader of Lumiose City’s gym and Ash’s friend, had just taken a comfy position on the couch when his father Meyer returned from putting the family’s youngest member Bonnie into bed.

”Finally, she fell asleep. I almost forgot how handful she can get when she’s upset.” He said to his son tiredly.

”Not that I can blame her, she hates being left out.” Clemont replies sadly ”But it can’t be helped, the rating is clearly PG-15.”

Sure, Bonnie had traveled across Kalos and experienced things that most children aren’t supposed to. Like, for example, being in the middle of the Kalos incident, though she ended up being the one who helped snap Squishy out of mind-control. But still, her father and brother weren’t ready to have any conversation that PG-15 content generally holds.

”If I were super strict, I wouldn’t allow you to watch it either.” Meyer pointed out playfully.

“I’m mostly curious who is behind this.” His son replied. Clemont knew the streaming service's workers had tried their best to remove the stream. Heck, they even put the whole service down, yet still the upcoming stream stayed up.

“Truly, even an old guy like me knows how strict the streaming services are, so the fact that the identity of Gossip and Chatter is still a mystery-” While the father and son discussed the mysterious streamers, they hadn’t noticed a small girl lurking behind the couch.

Next to her, a small mouse pokemon was attempting to announce their presence, but Bonnie quickly held her hand over its mouth.

“Hush Dedenne! We’re supposed to be sneaky.” Bonnie whisper-shouted. Dedenne nodded, quickly making its way to her head to have a better view.

Bonnie herself felt victorious as she smugly looked at the screen from her hiding spot. Nothing could go wrong now!

Kalos, some fancy ass hotel

Iris was fidgeting in her seat. She couldn’t help it; the last month of her life had been an experience she would never forget.

Basically, a month ago Cynthia, the legendary champion of Sinnoh and Diantha, the famous movie star and Kalos’ champion, had invited her to Kalos for a brief training trip. The Master Eight Tournament had really inspired both veterans, so whenever they got the chance, they would travel and seek out new ways to battle. And they ended up asking Iris if she was interested, and of course she was! She had made a promise to herself to one day defeat Cynthia just like Ash had.

Speaking of Ash, the stream about him was starting soon, and currently, Iris was sitting comfortably at a rather fancy hotel (hey, the trio had been camping for a whole week; they were allowed to spoil themselves.)

“Still can’t believe they couldn’t get rid of this.” Diantha commented as she sipped her drink “I got banned briefly when they assumed my outfit was too “revealing”.”

“Oh, I remember that. It caused such drama. Honestly, they were acting like you were naked when in truth you just took your jacket off.” Cynthia commented from her seat, already in her pajamas.

“I hope we don’t see Ash or anyone else naked.” Iris said, earning the pair’s attention “I mean, that would be kind of awful.”

“It would.” They both agreed. There were lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

Cynthia then leaned on her seat “But I’m interested in the title. “God’s plaything”…It made me think, and honestly, it feels like when Ash is around, something interesting will happen. Or something interesting happens, and he appears soon after that.”

“Yeah, I didn’t really have that many hijinks after we parted ways.” Iris admitted, taking one of the cake slices Diantha had ordered from the room service.

Kalos’ champion herself chuckled “Truly, maybe Arceus truly likes to lead Ash where there’s excitement. I wonder if that keeps going on even when he’s an old man.”

Iris laughed “Some evil guy tries to destroy the world when Ash is celebrating his 102nd birthday, and he’s like “God dang it, not again. Grandson, get grandpa’s wheelchair, I’m about to teach this tenderfoot a lesson they never forget.”

Cynthia and Diantha started giggling at her pretty bad grandpa impression, already envisioning old man Ash whacking the bad guy with a cane.

Kanto, Vermillion City

Goh, a young trainer desiring to catch all the Pokemon, was running through the streets of Vermillion City, making his way towards Professor Cerise’s research laboratory, Grookey right on his heels. As the pair managed to reach the building, they almost threw the door out of its hinges, scaring the professor’s daughter Chloe in the process.

"Goh! I thought you weren't going to make it!" She exclaimed after recovering from the shock.

"Sorry, Grookey got lost, and we missed the bus." Goh explained after catching his breath. If this had been a year ago, he would be currently lying on the ground from exhaustion (or somewhere on the streets), but having been Professor Cerise’s field researcher alongside Ash and participating in Project Mew had resulted in him gaining stamina. This had helped him a lot when he traveled alone in Kanto for the first time.

The young trainer returned from that journey recently and was currently wondering where to go next. There were so many places and Pokemon in the world that he hadn’t been able to see.

Part of him wished Ash was here. His best friend always seemed to know where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. And while they still kept in touch, it hadn’t been the same as it was when there were only two of them.

So when Chloe informed him that there was an upcoming stream dedicated to Ash, Goh’s interest had piqued. Sure, it might be just a trick, but at the same time, Ash had traveled since he was ten and had seen many things. Many things that were crazy, but Ash didn’t personally make a big deal out of them, and then he just casually says that “Oh yeah, I met god one time,” without any warning-!

Goh sighed. His life hasn’t been as crazy as it was when he hung around with Ash. Maybe his friend truly was fate’s plaything?

“Oh Goh, you’re finally here.” Ren, one of Professor Cerise’s assistants, greeted him when he entered the room.

“We were worried you wouldn’t make it in time.” Professor’s other assistant Crysha commented from her seat.

“Yeah, how much time is left?” Goh asked, sitting on the couch next to Ren (Grookey rushing towards the snack pile set up for Pokemon).

“Five more minutes.” A new voice answered as Professor Cerise himself entered the room, holding a popcorn bowl “I thought you got distracted by some new pokemon on your way here.”

“Um, not this time...heheh.” Goh replied clumsily, knowing that he occasionally did get distracted. He then turned his attention to Chloe, who sat down next to him with Eevee “Where’s Parker?”

“Mom took him in on a small vacation alongside a few of his friends.” She explained “To be honest, I’m a little bit jealous.”

“Says the girl who gets to travel during the weekends around the world.” Goh pointed out, which earned him a slight, non-malicious push on the shoulder that only made him laugh.

Kanto, the forest near Mulberry City

Team Rocket trio Jessie, James, and Meowth were hungry. Which wasn’t unusual; the trio had a really tight budget, and even when they got food, something bad happened. Nowadays, it was James’ Morpeko with its bottomless stomach.

“One thing I hate about Kanto forests is that they don’t have that many fruit trees.” James lamented “It would be so easy to just let Morpeko eat its fill, and we could eat in peace.”

“That thing would eat our food even if there was an entire orchard of fruit trees to consume!” Jessie complained, feeling somewhat hangry “Oh what I wouldn’t give for a nice steak dinner and chocolate cake for dessert.”

“Hate to break it to you, but money for that is needed to feed your Pokemon.” Meowth pointed out sadly. Why had nobody told them how expensive it was to keep twelve Pokemon (including him) fed? And it was kind of embarrassing to ask their boss for more money since they hadn’t managed to catch him any Pokemon.

Not to mention that they used his generosity by requesting a laptop, telling him it was for work. Explaining that the Rotom Phone wasn’t 100% trustworthy with info gathering.

The truth? They wanted to see what the strange rumors about a spectacle focusing on the twerp were all about. Especially since they were mentioned too. At least they thought they were. And honestly, it was kind of flattering to be called “iconic”.

"There's four minutes left..." James commented and made a room for Jessie and Meowth to settle down.

Team Rocket HQ

Giovanni, the infamous leader of the Team Rocket organization, was troubled. Normally, he wasn’t that interested in streaming (other than allowing his subordinates to gather information and funds through it), but his secretary Matori had brought up the fact that the upcoming stream focusing on the recent world champion Ash (who had occasionally tampered with Team Rocket’s plans) apparently referenced the iconic Team Rocket trio.

Iconic Team Rocket trio? The only trio he could think of was a certain trio, but he wouldn't call them iconic.

“Let’s check it briefly.” He said to his secretary Matori, while petting his Persian.

Three minutes left…

Hoenn, Lilycove City

“May, hurry up! It’s starting soon!” Max, Gym Leader Norman’s son, shouted impatiently to his older sister May.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” May, a famous coordinator known as “Princess of Hoenn” said to him while leaving the bathroom “You know not to rush a girl when she’s doing her hair…”

“Serena is a girl, and she finished an hour ago.” Max pointed at the third member inside their Pokemon Center room. Serena, a skillful Pokemon Performer and Pokemon Coordinator, laughed awkwardly as the attention was on her.

“Tsk darn you…!” May muttered out as she had no comeback that wouldn’t hurt Serena’s feelings, so she just flopped next to the other girl and whispered to her “I thought he wouldn’t be so snarky when you’re here with us…”

“Well, younger siblings can be quite a handful. When I traveled with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, she would ask every passing girl and woman to marry her brother.”

“Oh geez, when Ash and Brock traveled with us, we dealt with Brock’s bad flirting attempts.” May replied, and both girls giggled over their friends’ silly antics.

What these three had in common was the fact that all of them had traveled with Ash. And while accidentally meeting during the contest, they ended up watching Ash’s match against Leon together. And ever since then, the coordinators had kept in contact and decided to meet up occasionally, like right now.

Serena watched as Max waited impatiently for the stream to start and whispered to May in concern “But still...Isn’t Max a little too young for this?”

“The laptop is his. And he blackmailed me…what a pain.” May lamented.

"I heard that!" Max glanced over his shoulder to glare at his sister "Besides, there was a time when ten-year-olds were adults, so it's fine."

"Max, that doesn't-" "Ten-year-olds were WHAT?!" May's counterargument was interrupted by Serena's shocked shout.

Fortunately, May wasn't offended and instead started explaining "He's referring to that time when some politician in Kanto managed to pass down a law that made ten-year-olds legally adults. To get more taxpayers out of the trainers you know. The law lasted like two days before the massive backlash."

"I can see why." Serena commented "How come you know this?"

"Max tried to use it to convince our parents to let him start his trainer career early." May answered, giggling at Max's embarrassed groan.

"Just you wait, soon I start my own journey, and then I will participate in the World Coronation Series Tournament and become the youngest Monarch who surpasses even Ash!"

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? It will be a few more years until the next tournament." May pointed out before humming "Maybe I should participate in that as well. Are you interested Serena?"

"Not really, I prefer to be a coordinator and performer." Serena answered "Though those battles in the Tournament felt like performances. I thought my heart would burst out."

"Mine too. Ash really liked keeping us in suspension with his battles-" as his sister and Serena talked about their favourite moments in the Tournament, Max stared at the screen. Sure, usually he would join too, but seeing the timer drop down to two minutes was distracting enough.

Hoenn, Mossdeep City

Steven Stone hadn’t been sure if he should watch the stream about Ash. Mostly because he was still packing for his upcoming trip. After finally having a break in his champion duties that had seemed to skyrocket thanks to the Master Eight Tournament, he decided to visit Alola in hopes of obtaining his own Z-ring and Z-crystals after witnessing their power in the tournament.

But then Wallace, Steven’s rival, former Hoenn Champion, Sootopolis Gym Leader, and Top Coordinator, barged in without invitation, packed for Steven, prepared the snacks, and now they were waiting for the stream to start.

“Oh, this takes me back. I remember when the first document was made about me.” Wallace said fondly “So we must support young Ash by watching this.”

“I’m pretty sure this isn’t a document…” Steven pointed out “In fact, isn’t this kind of suspicious? Like, one of the reasons this got so widespread is because it couldn’t be removed despite it breaking the rules.”

“Yes, that’s why I told my younger fans not to watch it.” Wallace said “And if this is actually an attempt to taint Ash’s reputation due to envy, I will make sure to put a stop to it!”

“Oh, how nice of you. I think Ash will appreciate it...How are you going to do it?”

“I have no idea! But at least in a minute, we see who is behind this.”

Kanto, Professor Oak’s laboratory

Delia Ketchum, Ash’s beloved mother, felt like she should have a spare key to the laboratory at this point. She often visited there. Though she and Professor Oak mostly watched Ash’s matches together.

Currently, she was there because she had heard about this stream thing dedicated to her son Ash, but she didn’t have a device to take a look. Call her old-fashioned, but most of the time she really didn’t need anything, although recently people around her had tried to get her to buy a smartphone.

But now she was sitting next to her old mentor, who looked quite worn out.

“Are you going to be alright Professor?” Delia asked, and he waved his hand.

“Yes, yes, it just...it has been quite a week. Reporters haven’t really left me alone, and my email and phones are going to overheat at this rate. And I’m pretty sure Tracey is mad at me.”

“I don’t think he’s mad. He’s currently with Ash and others. Hopefully, they’re having fun. Oh, look, the countdown is almost done!”

“Oh, so we finally find the answers to our questions.” Professor Oak commented after gathering himself.

And so, around the world, people gathered around their devices. Some because they had met Ash during his journeys. Some who in general were curious about the recent world champion.

Minutes became thirty seconds…

20 seconds…

10 seconds…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

The countdown ended, and the screen became black.

Ash gulped, Pikachu tensing up.

...

I'll get you, Pokémon!

"...what?"

That was basically a reaction in everyone’s mind.

They had expected streamers to pop up to announce their presence as other streamers do.

What they hadn’t expected to hear was Ash's voice, followed by the blast of music.

Even if in fire, in water, in grass, in forests

In ground, in clouds, in that girl's skirt (Eek!)

”...in girl's WHAT!?” Mallow shouted in disbelief, her brain being the first to register the song’s lyrics as everyone else in her group was taken aback by the sight of Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Ash, and some unknown lass flashing on the screen, followed by Pikachu, who clearly ran between the said lass’ legs.

”Hey, that’s Charizard! And Blastoise and- hey, that’s me?!” Ash shouted in shock to see himself suddenly. The rest of the group was too surprised to comment, especially since now the scenery shifted into showing Kantonian pokemon in a rapid phase.

It's very, very,

Very, very difficult but

I'm sure I'll get you!

Pokémon, I'll get you!

"Ah! So many Kanto Pokemon! And Ash!" Bonnie yelled in excitement, but sadly, that revealed her hiding spot to her father and brother.

“Bonnie! You’re supposed to be in bed!” Meyer shouted, standing up “I thought we talked about this! We check the stream first to see if it’s okay for you to watch!”

"But I wanna watch Ash's adventures now!" She replied, and soon enough, the house was filled with chaos as the little girl was running away from her father.

Clemont instead stared at the screen in confusion “Just what is this???”

“Oh! What a magnificent combination!” Wallace found himself gasping as he and Steven recovered from an utterly flabbergasting start “The clips truly align with the music’s rhythm!”

“But what is this?” The Hoenn’s champion questioned.

Around the world, the viewers who had never been in Kanto were amazed by the sudden wave of its Pokemon species. Though they were also extremely confused. Was this a music video??

Farewell, bye-bye, Pallet Town

I'm leaving on a journey with him (Pikachu!)

“What is this even?!” Max shouted “When did Ash have the chance to film this? Was he behind this the whole time?”

“I don’t think that’s the case, that Ash looks younger.” Serena replied, looking at the screen intensely alongside May.

“Look Piplup! That’s Ash’s hometown!” Dawn gushed, pointing to the background to her curious starter. Maybe she should visit it one day, to see what kind of place her friend grew up in.

…Though she was also wondering if this was actually a music video that Ash had secretly filmed.

Racking up wins with the moves we've trained

Making friends, and then off to the next city (We're waiting!)

Jessie and James had been surprised (more than they already were) by their sudden (yet rather cool) posing in the video, but that was replaced by the wave of emotions as Meowth was shown with Ekans and Koffing.

"Oh Arbok..." Jessie whispered.

"Weezing..." James sniffed.

"Buddies..." Meowth whimpered.

"I miss them!" They declared aloud, embracing each other.

"Hey, that's you guys- and Team Rocket- and GARY!?" Ash shouted in disbelief when suddenly Gary Oak's smug face filled the screen.

Gary himself made a choked noise "Why am I with Team Rocket?! Seriously, why do I look so evil!?”

"That's Gary! ...why does he look so evil?" Goh questioned, making others laugh; even Professor Cerise couldn't contain himself.

Giovanni, who was as baffled as the rest of the world by this music video, was even more baffled when he saw the familiar trio on the screen.

The iconic trio in question truly was Jessie, James, and Meowth.

...Just why?

Always and forever doing well

Though there's no guarantee of that... (That's true!)

”Oh! Professor, look, it’s us!” Delia gasped as she saw herself on the screen.

”And Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. Though which one?” He wondered aloud.

Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies, who happened to be watching, were surprised to see one of their relatives on the screen. And one Nurse Joy from Viridian City was surprised to see herself.

Forever and always, I'll live true

Because they're here

"Is that Mew?!" Goh shouted in disbelief.

“But what was that before it?” Ren questioned, not getting the answer.

“It’s like an opening…” Hop said to himself, which was heard by his brother and Sonia, who were amazed by the sudden barrage of Kanto’s legendary Pokemon.

“Now that you mention it…” Sonia said.

“...It kind of is an opening…” Leon finished, now looking at the music video in a new light.

“What are those Pokemons?” Iris found herself asking with amazement.

“Kanto’s legendaries. At least some.” Cynthia answered, feeling surprised. Despite her inner Pokedex having managed to name every Pokemon she saw in this music video, the Pokemon following Moltres didn’t ring a bell. Though it seemed to have some similarities with Mew…

“Mewtwo?!” Giovanni said aloud to see that damn traitor suddenly soar across the space, followed by Mew.

Ah! I aim to be a Pokémon Master

I want to be, I have to be

I know I'll be one! 

The last thing people saw was Ash posing with Pikachu, Misty, and Brock on the side.

The screen darkened, and now two people appeared. The one on the left was wearing a light blue cyberpunk helmet and a turquoise hoodie. The one on the right was wearing a magenta boiler suit and had...a red bucket on their head.

...Just what in the world where those outfits?

...

The helmet-wearing one sighed [I wish we had chosen Gotta Catch Them All, Chatter. It would've been a banger way to start this.]

[Hey, you gotta start with the original.] Bucket head- Chatter replied before turning their attention on the camera [Aaaanyway, welcome everyone- WOAH  check it out Gossip! That's a lot of people!]

While the viewers couldn’t see helmet-wearing Gossip’s expression, they could hear their disbelief [...just how? It was supposed to be only a dozen- Tsk, probably Arceus messing with us again.]

...

“Just what in the world?” Was the general thought, as Gossip adjusted themselves and straightened up with a friendly tone.

[But as Chatter said, welcome to our stream! I'm Gossip, and this is Chatter, and we'll be your humble hosts as together we react to some of Ash Ketchum's earlier shenanigans.]

Chatter then piped in [And if you’re confused what we mean, let me explain. Everyone’s life is a story. Every day of your life is its own “episode”. And Ash, alongside his friends, has experienced so many things during their travels that, as a result, there’s a bunch of very entertaining ones.]

[And that’s what we’re doing here today!] Gossip declared, pointing at the camera [We’re about to see, react, and discuss some of these episodes! You get it?]

All around the world, those who were watching the stream felt many emotions.

Some were utterly confused by the statement that everyone’s lives are episodes.

Some were baffled because what nonsense this was supposed to be?

Some were skeptical, thinking this was just a public stunt from the champion himself.

Little did those people know that the champion in question was sitting on the couch and was the most shocked out of the bunch.

“...my life is episodes? Like...a TV series or something?” Ash repeated.

“So there was a stalker after us all this time!?” Misty shouted in horror, but Brock shook his head.

“I don’t think that’s the case. That music video in the beginning... It was clearly us. And the way they’re talking about it-”

“There’s something else going on.” Tracey finished grimly.

“Life as episodes? How is that possible?” Delia asked Professor Oak, who was frowning deeply.

“Pokemon world is a mysterious place, so it isn’t too unbelievable. And that music video…” He said seriously “If our lives are just a string of “episodes” then that must’ve been “opening” for Ash’s.”

“Oh yeah, it mentioned Pallet Town…” She realized, feeling a new kind of nervousness.

“...So basically, Ash’s life is like a TV series?” Max concluded after digesting the information.

“Seriously, you've got to be kidding me…” May whispered while feeling utterly baffled over the idea of her friend’s life being turned into episodes. Same with Serena, who swallowed nervously.

“There’s something strange happening here.” Professor Kukui declared seriously. His wife nodded.

“Truly, someone can turn Ash’s life into episodes? Feels out of this world.”

“Could this be a work of some other-dimensional beast?” Faba wondered aloud, which made the rest of the group’s eyes widen.

“You think so?” Sophocles asked. Next to Kiawe, Gladion frowned.

“Makes sense, there's something inhuman with those two…”

“...Did we jinx it when we talked about how Ash’s life seems to be full of excitement?” Iris questioned.

“Maybe...but still, why are they actually doing this?” Cynthia wondered.

She soon got her answer as Chatter spoke up [So let’s get some things straight first; Why are we doing this? Because it creates something interesting events. Not to mention we're shameless bastards who have too much power in our hands.]

[What we're doing is morally wrong, but it's not like you can arrest us or anything!] Gossip boasted, and the pair broke into comically evil laughter that made most viewers squirm.

“So these guys are just shameless.” Reggie commented.

“Yet we’re not turning this thing off.” Paul pointed out, making his older brother sheepish.

"Well, they sure are confident." Leon commented, making Hop snort.

"And for a reason, not even the greatest hackers and specialists managed to track them down. Or even ban the stream."

“Call it a hunch, but I don’t feel like these are just regular people you meet on the street.” Sonia pointed out with a slight unease.

“Out of all the lives they could've chosen, they chose the teenage boy. They truly are bastards.” Wallace commented.

“I wonder how Ash is feeling. I can’t even imagine my life becoming “episodes” and then someone broadcasts them.” Steven said with a troubled expression “Should we turn this off?”

“And miss out? No, we must watch at least one of these “episodes” to see what these “entertaining” moments are. And after that, we support Ash during this time.”

“You sound rather serious.”

“As a celebrity, I’ve seen how low some people can sink…”

After the streamers were done laughing, Gossip continued [What else...Oh! We will avoid certain things and “episodes”.]

[Yep, we’re a bunch of shitheads, but we’re not here to humiliate Ash and others by showing their worst moments and laughing at them. And we compensate them, so don’t worry.] Chatter explained.

The anger some had felt previously over the pair’s shitty behavior was dismissed a little bit at their confession of apparently having “some standards”.

“That’s...that’s good?” Ash said aloud. Surely he was still confused and all, but as long as it wasn’t showing his worst moments, it would be fine? Maybe?

“Well, it could be worse?” Tracey suggested “But I’m curious how exactly they’re going to compensate us.”

“Maybe they give you cake?” Yolanda suggested.

“That would be enough to get Ash to forgive them.” Misty said teasingly.

“Hey!” Ash protested halfheartedly, making everyone laugh.

[And there are a few gyms we’d rather ignore as well.] Gossip said with a groan [Mostly because we don’t have the patience to deal with the controversies.]

Some gym leaders who were watching the stream felt dread.

Few gyms would be left out of these episodes, but did that include their gyms? Controversies? Was the stream about to reveal some of their dirty laundry out in the open?

Erika and Sabrina especially felt nervous.

Erika, because when Pokemon Inspection Agency did a standard inspection in Celadon Gym and found out why Ash Ketchum had been banned briefly, Nurse Joy had given her a severe scolding about proper gym leader (and their workers) behaviour. And honestly, Erika wasn’t proud of her behavior back then, so she hoped that she would be ignored.

Sabrina instead knew very well that she didn't have the best record. It hadn't been very professional to shrink trainers or turn them (or her mom) into dolls. Honestly, her memories of those times were somewhat fuzzy. Blame it on her mind having been somewhat split. Haunter’s presence in general helped; even now, it stayed near her, looking curiously at the tablet. Yet still she was sure inspectors or police wouldn’t just ignore her actions. Heck, she wouldn’t be surprised if Lance came knocking on her door.

“Few gyms? I wonder if I’m excluded.” Lt. Surge, Vermillion Gym’s official gym leader, who had recently returned from his training trip, wondered aloud. Next to him, the gym’s substitute gym leader Visquez looked at him curiously.

“Did something bad happen? I thought you said you and Ash had an unforgettable match.”

“It was, but I don’t really wanna see myself.” Lt. Surge sighed “Though maybe I shouldn’t think like that since it's Ash’s life that they’re showing.”

“Should we then turn this off captain? To not break Ash’s privacy?”

“Do you want to?”

“...not really.”

“*Sigh, we’re like a pair of Magnemites attracted to electricity.”

“Truly. Maybe we should send Ash an apology basket for watching?”

“Oh, that could work. Now what do we send…?”

At first, Ash had been relieved when the pair said that their intention was not to humiliate him or his friends. But then Gossip spoke up.

"Few gyms-? What do they- Oh no." Ash groaned, mind flashing on certain Boulder and Cascade Badges, and that time he helped Team Rocket inside Celadon gym, who then ended up lighting the whole gym on fire, plus also winning by making Sabrina laugh, but Misty said it was okay, but was it really okay-?

Yolanda frowned in confusion "What do they mean?"

Misty let out a snort, already ready to tease "Oh, probably that time when Ash instead of earning gym badges-"

"Misty." Brock's voice interrupted her "Maybe that topic is getting too old."

He pointed at Ash, who looked deflated as he crumbled about his shaky beginning as the trainer, bemused Tracey and Pikachu patting his back as comfort.

Misty backed down immediately “I guess you’re right, sorry.”

Brock looked satisfied and leaned in to look at his siblings "We can talk about it later. But basically, they probably won't show the Pewter Gym match."

"But what's wrong with it?" Yolanda asked "I thought Ash was kind not to hurt Onix anymore and forfeiting because he wanted to win fairly."

"Which is why I gave him the badge." Brock said "He did earn my respect with the honor he showed."

"Aw geez..." The young champion seemed to recover from his brief flunk thanks to Brock’s praise.

"But not everyone will think that way." Forrest spoke up sadly "Some have very strong opinions about gyms and badges."

"After becoming the gym leader, I learned that Cerulean Gym had already gotten a warning once, thanks to my sisters giving badges out of whim." Misty groaned in annoyance "It was such pain to cleanse the gym from that reputation."

"I don't get it. What could be the problem with some gyms that they won’t be shown?" Kiawe questioned. Near him, Principal Oak frowned.

"I'm afraid I know the problem. Do you Kukui?"

"I think I do too." Professor Kukui then turned to look at the curious group "Just a few years ago, thanks to criminal organizations running wild in many regions, the Pokemon Inspection Agency wasn’t properly funded by the International Pokemon League, which caused problems.”

“Pokemon Inspection Agency?” Mallow asked curiously.

“It’s an agency whose main object is to inspect gyms and their gym leaders, oversee the creation of new ones, and so on.”

Principal Oak nodded with a troubled expression. “Unfortunately, as Professor Kukui said, the agency used to lack proper funding, so there weren’t enough inspectors to do annual inspections, and as a result, any problem behavior wasn’t properly checked.”

"So in other words, gym leaders could do whatever they wanted." Gladion stated bluntly.

"Pretty much. Of course, most gym leaders were professionals. But there were definitely the problematic ones.” Professor Kukui scratched his chin "While I was doing research, I remember reading guidebooks that advised trainers not to go to Saffron City's gym. Though I never learned why exactly."

“Thankfully, nowadays things have calmed down. But I guess Gossip and Chatter don’t want to cause any drama in that regard.”

“Yet they’re willing to reveal Ash’s life to the whole world.” Lana commented dryly.

[And probably the most confusing thing; why is our stream PG-15?] Gossip kept them in suspense briefly before flatly answering [Because we swear. And talk about dirty stuff.]

[And we didn’t wanna hear anyone complaining how their precious itty bitty Timmy or Sara is using naughty language because of us. Like, why the hell are you letting them watch this stream in the first place!?] Chatter pointed out while Gossip nodded sagely

[Yep, don't blame us for your shitty parenting.]

...

“THAT’S IT!?” Cilan shouted aloud, feeling his legs waver “I speculated for hours what happened to Ash for rating for the stream to be so high, and it’s SWEARING!?”

Most people, mostly teens and so on, felt the same way as him. Because seriously, that's it? The rating was PG-15 because these two like to swear?

May sighed “Oh, thank goodness. It’s not a problem because Max doesn’t swear.”

“You don’t?” Serena asked Max, who let out a huff.

“I don’t see the point. I prefer to be creative.”

But then there were people like Kiawe, and Lana sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank Tapus I did the right thing, Mimo tends to mimic whatever she hears if she thinks it’s “cool”." Kiawe commented, Lana nodding along.

"Harper and Sarah are like sponges. I said Dewgong dung ONCE, and they repeated it for days no matter what I did. Then mom just cut their allowances, and it ended. Though my dad and I were on thin ice for a while."

”I see, having younger siblings is troublesome.” Sophocles commented, Mallow and Lillie, grumbling a little as they weren’t troublesome younger siblings. At least they didn’t think they were.

Principal Oak just laughed “Well, that’s good then! I was somewhat nervous about the rating, but it was just to keep little children away.”

“Hopefully your students or Gladion won’t pick up their habit.” Wicke pointed out to Professor Kukui.

"If I hear any of them repeat anything they say, they will write a four-page essay about profanity." He threatened teasingly, but his dutiful students gulped nervously. Even Gladion looked unsure, mostly wondering if he could force him to write an essay too. Then he remembered his parents and knew the answer immediately.

“The reason for the rating was swearing?” Clemont said aloud, interrupting Bonnie’s and their father’s fight. Well, it was less of a fight and more of Meyer trying to catch Bonnie.

“Eh? Is that so? So there’s nothing bad?”

“I don’t think so, of course we can ask Ash-”

“So I can watch then?” Bonnie interrupted, looking victorious already. And for a moment Meyer looked thoughtful.

“Hm...sure, BUT-” He quickly said before she could shout from joy “I want to make two things clear. First, we turn it off if there’s anything not suitable. Second, you know how you can become trainer when you turn ten?”

“Oh yeah! I can’t wait!”

“So here’s the deal. If me or your brother hears you swearing, I will delay that by one month. So let’s just say you swear, then you can become a trainer a month after you turn ten. Swear yet again and you start two months after you turn ten-”

Clemont had to hold back his laughter after seeing how horrified Bonnie looked at the sheer idea of her dream being delayed.

“I promise daddy! I promise I won’t repeat anything they say!” She said with teary eyes as she clutched her dad’s pants. He just laughed.

“All right then, I trust you on that. Now let’s watch what this is all about.”

At this point, the streamers decided to get down to business.

[So, let's go through the people you're about to see a lot.] Gossip snapped their fingers, and suddenly there was a familiar young champion on the screen, although younger [First of all, Ash, our dear boy.]

Delia gasped as she saw her boy, well, a smaller boy on the screen. Back when he was ten and left for his journey. Oh, how much has he grown…

[When he was young-]

[Ash is still young, Gossip.]

[Younger, starting his journey, wandering through Kanto, Orange Islands, and Johto… And he was a brat.]

“Heah!?” Ash made a noise, as people around him started laughing.

Fortunately (for Ash), Chatter jumped on his defense [And there’s nothing wrong about it. He’s a rookie trainer still learning. And to be honest, who wasn’t a brat when they were ten?] They then looked thoughtful (despite wearing a bucket) [Though honestly, Ash is still a type of guy who jumps into the game without doing the tutorial and then is left to wonder how the game works.]

"Accurate." Many who knew Ash ended up thinking the same thing. Heck, even Ash couldn't help but agree.

'Oh man, I do that a lot, don't I?' The young champion thought dryly, his deadpan expression earning a laugh from his friends.

"No need to pout Ash. Everything always turns out well.” Tracey comforted.

“Oh yeah, in a way it’s kind of your charm point.” Misty offered

Paul couldn’t help but snort at the way Ash was described "Did you know he didn't even know that you can use Pokedex to check what moves your Pokemon has.”

"Meanwhile you were way too obsessed with that feature." Reggie replied with a teasing tone, chuckling a little when Paul made an unhappy noise.

“Isn’t that kind of bad tactic as a trainer?” Hop questioned, as he had personally studied really hard for his upcoming career as a trainer.

“The way I see it is a double-edged sword.” Leon replied “Truly, at best, you don’t fall into the typical pattern that many trainers do, and as a result, you become a rather creative. But at worst, you might endanger yourself AND your Pokemon.”

“Not to mention that people can be rather cruel.” Sonia continued, before giving Hop an encouraging smile “But I think you’re going to do just fine. Just learn the basics and keep your mind open.”

“R-right…” Hop replied, trying to ignore the pressure her words gave him.

[Anyway, enough about Ash. You guys probably know his Pikachu. The myth. The legend. It's actually Ash's starter. And I say this all with love, but he used to be a low-key little shit.]

There were flashes of Pikachu scenes, more precisely scenes where Pikachu electrocuted Ash, Ash and Professor Oak, Ash's friends and family.

"PI!?" Pikachu in question made a shocked noise as he saw himself, enough to earn a laugh from the group despite the bafflement of seeing the younger electric mouse on the clips.

Gossip was also chuckling at Chatter's words [I'd say he was truly a little shit in the first hours he knew Ash. After that? He just didn't share his trainer's battle enthusiasm at first.]

"Oh yeah, you sometimes pretended to fall asleep." Ash pointed out, making older teens chuckle again, while Forrest and Yolanda were surprised by the information.

"And nowadays, you and Ash pretty much race to the nearest Pokemon battle." Tracey laughed, and Pikachu scratched his head sheepishly.

[And the question most of you probably wonder: why do you never see Pikachu in his Poke ball? Well, he simply hates it, and Ash respects his wishes. I bet Professor Oak had a fun time trying to get him into the ball.]

"It was anything but fun." Professor Oak admitted to Delia "Getting Pikachu back in the Poke Ball required a five-step plan. Which is why I didn't judge Ash when his solution was just to tie it up and drag it along."

“At least you don’t have that big of an issue being inside the ball.” Dawn commented to Piplup. She would need to create a whole new choreography for her contest entrances whenever she’d use her starter. Hm...that actually did bring some fun ideas for the next contest.

[But enough of Ash and Pikachu, let’s move to their travel companions.] Chatter declared, and the photo of Pikachu was changed into Misty posing confidentially [First of all, Misty, the local tsundere.]

“The local WHAT-!?” Misty shouted in disbelief, but Gossip continued.

[She used to be kind of hypocritical, mocking Ash over things she was also guilty of. And the only reason she was a little bit more experienced was that her family works at Cerulean Gym.]

[But she's also the ride or die friend you can count on.] Chatter added.

Brock, Ash, and Tracey immediately leaned away from Misty, having memories of her temper flaring up. Even Forrest and Yolanda looked at her cautiously.

But much to their surprise, instead of anger, Misty just looked incredibly annoyed. In a way that you’d be when you hear someone speaking the truth which you can’t deny, and it pisses you off.

“I mean, do they have to bring that up?” She questioned with a huff, not realizing that people around her relaxed a little bit.

“Though they are right. I could always count on you having my back...most of the time.” Ash offered, muttering out the last part.

Sadly, Misty did hear it, this time glaring at Ash fiercely “What do you mean by “most of the time”?!”

“Oh no-!”

May frowned a little bit “Huh, I never got that feeling about Misty.”

“Well, they said she “used to”. Serena offered “I mean, I used to be really uncertain about what I want to do with my life, but not anymore.”

“Oh me too. Then I found my path as coordinator.” May replied with excitement.

Meanwhile Max felt somewhat embarrassed by himself. It felt like Gossip was talking about him before he started traveling with May, Ash, and Brock. Heck, his first conversation with Ash was him bragging how he would've won in the Silver Conference. Honestly, it must’ve taken all of Ash’s willpower not to pummel him back then...

Max wasn’t the only one grimacing. As Iris was in the same position. She felt like she was being called out over her own past behavior, which made her mind flash on her rather unpleasant moments.

Next to her, Cynthia looked curious “What’s wrong Iris?”

“Nothing. It just...brings back memories. About me. Not Misty.” She added quickly.

Diantha hummed knowingly “Your not so great moments? I think we all have had those.”

“Yeah, but in my case...I wasn’t always that good friend thanks to my own insecurities…” Iris confessed awkwardly to her seniors.

“Is that so?” Cynthia looked thoughtful before smiling “But at least you’ve grown past that, right?”

“Yes, just like our Pokemon, we people grow and evolve too, to our better versions too, as long as we recognize the mistakes we made.” Diantha added.

Iris gave them a grateful smile. Maybe she should talk to Cilan and Ash later…

Gossip then switched Misty’s image to Brock’s [And after her came Brock. The reliable guy. The man, the legend.]

[Constantly cockblocked by Misty and Croagunk.]

Brock, who had been fidgeting from the wave of praises spluttered by a sudden deadpan comment from Chatter that made Gossip laugh like crazy. It wasn’t helped that Misty (already calmed from previous irritation) and Tracey started laughing as well. Though Ash just tilted his head in confusion alongside Brock’s siblings.

“Cockblock? What’s that?”

“Pikaaa…” Pikachu said, mimicking his trainer.

“What’s so funny Professor Kukui?” Lillie asked innocently as the adults in the watch party tried to keep straight faces, but were failing miserably. And they weren’t the only ones. While some of her friends were as confused as she was, some had started giggling for some reason. Except her brother Gladion, who just looked dead inside.

“What’s cockblocking?” Bonnie asked curiously, not noticing how nervous her dad suddenly looked. Thankfully Clemont chimed in.

“The opposite of what you do whenever we meet a new girl.” He explained dryly, making Bonnie wide-eyed from understanding.

“Oh! I see.” She said. Meanwhile their father looked at his oldest child in confusion.

“She asks almost every new girl we meet to be my wife, remember?” Clemont reminded, making his dad’s confusion turn into barely contained amusement.

“Oh, she’s still doing that?” Meyer says, having thought Bonnie already moved on from that phase. Maybe he should have a talk with her about it since his son looked troubled.

“Hey! This is erasure!” Max protested, surprising May and Serena with his sudden shout “I also dragged him away when he was flirting with girls!”

“He saw Misty do it and started mimicking her.” May whispered to Serena as an explanation.

“But how does he know what-”

“The context clues. Plus, he reads a lot.”

Gossip stopped laughing, but their voice was full of mirth [Just to correct, Max and Bonsly also stopped him when he was trying to woo a girl.]

“Thank you!” Max said with a huff.

“Who the hell is Max?” Thought the majority of the viewers.

[Oh yeah. Almost forgot. Not that it matters. The point is that Brock has inner Groudon and Kyogre fighting each other; The mom friend and the horny teenager.] As Chatter spoke, the screen showed two photos. One where Brock was cooking with his apron, and the one where he was being his hopeless romantic self.

Misty lost it again “That’s-! That’s the most accurate description of Brock I’ve ever heard!” she laughed, clutching her stomach. Brock grumbled something under his breath, seriously hoping that they’d stop talking about him.

Surprisingly, Delia Ketchum was also laughing “Oh I remember when he stayed with me for a while, I was so sure he and Mimey would end up fist-fighting at the riverbank to settle their rivalry once and for all.”

“Truly, despite being on the path of becoming a fine Pokemon doctor, he still has a lot growing up to do.” Professor Oak said wisely.

Chatter then cleared their throat [Moving on, when Ash journeyed in the Orange Islands, he and Misty ended up traveling with Tracey.] A photo of Tracey was shown [He’s currently working as Professor Oak’s assistant.]

[Honestly, Tracey is probably the most normal out of all Ash’s traveling companions...Does it say something about the rest of them?] Gossip questioned, and their partner in crime shrugged their shoulders.

[Vanilla is a flavor among others. Anyway moving on-]

“Did they just call me vanilla!?” Tracey shouted, looking and feeling slightly offended.

Brock and Misty gave him sympathetic stares, but Ash was just confused “What’s the matter? Vanilla ice cream is good.”

“That’s not-!” The young assistant started, but then after a moment of silence just exhaled deeply, leaning on the cushion “You know what, I take that as a compliment, thanks Ash.”

“What did I say?” The young champion questioned, but nobody really answered.

“Tracey is a great help, and I’m glad I have him as the assistant.” Professor Oak declared proudly “Maybe in the future my laboratory is called Professor Tracey’s laboratory.”

“What about your grandson Gary? I thought he would take over this place after you.” Delia asked.

“It can be possible, but currently my grandson prefers traveling. Seeing and studying different regions and so on.” He replied, and she nodded in understanding. Kind of like her Ash, who after leaving at age 10, never truly stopped. It was a miracle he stayed in Alola for so long (AKA almost a year).

“Eh, even that one twerp got mentioned.” Jessie commented to her comrades before frowning “But what about us!?”

And like they heard Jessie, Chatter continued [-the next is the trio themselves. Wanna do the honors Gossip?]

And they did, replacing Tracey’s photo with the Team Rocket trio. And all around the world, people were taken aback by the sheer quality increase.

“Is it me or is that photo way more stylish than previous ones?” May commented dryly.

“I swear there’s sparkles surrounding it.” Max replied with a deadpan expression. Serena just laughed at their reactions.

Bonnie frowned at the screen “Those three don’t look like that.”

“They don’t?” Meyer asked while Clemont squinted his eyes.

“Nah, it doesn’t look edited, yet somehow they look rather...cool? But those three aren’t exactly what I’d call cool.”

His little sister gave him an unimpressed stare “No offense, big bro, but your definition of cool isn’t that cool either.”

“R-robots are cool!”

[And here they are! Jessie, James and Meowth. The icons.] Gossip declared.

[The multi-talented trio who is fated to fail miserably. Oh, that poor trio.] Chatter lamented.

If anyone had been present to see Team Rocket’s reactions, they would’ve laughed. Just how quickly the trio went from flustered (photo, compliment) to look like the words stabbed through their very core (the insult).

“F-fated…?” Jessie gasped.

“To fail?” James groaned.

“Miserably?” Meowth finished, and all of them flopped down.

“Wobbuffet!” Wobbuffet said.

‘Accurate.’ Thought Giovanni and Matori simultaneously, though maybe they’d leave out that multi-talented part.

“Huh, they sound...rather sympathetic towards those three…” Misty commented, her friends nodding along.

Chatter leaned on their chair [So, about them... Team Rocket is more like a passion job to them. They're not that good in it, but at least they get to be together. And for years, these three have had one self-made mission: capture Ash's Pikachu for their boss. Sadly, the faith is on Ash's side.]

[Why that Pikachu? During their first meeting, they concluded it to be one of a kind. But then again, the Pikachu in question went to battle and defeated the best this world could offer, so maybe they were onto something?]

Leon found himself chuckling as he heard Charizard let out an annoyed huff behind him. Sure his loyal companion had accepted his loss with a stride, but that didn’t mean it was happy for a reminder.

Pikachu fidgeted in Ash’s arms, feeling flustered from the praise. Meanwhile his trainer laughed.

“They’re right you know. You’re one of a kind Pikachu.” Ash said, petting his head affectionately.

[And when you watch someone being screwed by fate itself, you can't help but feel sorry for them.] Gossip said fondly, and Chatter nodded.

[So in case Giovanni kicks them out of Team Rocket after this, can someone adopt them? They're house-trained and bring joy to your life. Though you gotta be ready to shoot James' parents if they show up to your doorstep, so keep that in mind.]

...

"...ready to do WHAT!!??" Sophocles shouted in disbelief, and his classmates, who had been ready to joke about adopting Team Rocket, were too baffled to say anything.

Meanwhile Team Rocket did not appreciate the streamers' adoption suggestion.

"Hey! We're not some abandoned Pokemon!" Jessie shouted, enraged.

"That's right! The nerve!" Meowth agreed "Ain't that right James!?...James?"

The third member of the team looked extremely uncomfortable as he tried to find the words "Do you think they show them? You know, my...my..."

"You mean your insane parents and even more insane fiancé?" Jessie clarified before shrugging her shoulders “Maybe? Why does it matter?”

“It does matter! I was so humiliated thanks to you guys dragging me back to that manor!” James accused, suddenly feeling rather angry about it.

Jessie rolled her eyes “Oh please, we didn’t humiliate you. We just tried to nudge you into the path of riches. It’s your fault for not being honest from the beginning.”

“Meowth that’s right! Though knowing Jessie she wouldn’t have listened anyway.”

That was the wrong thing to say, and soon the trio was engaged in a fistfight with each other.

“Shoot? James’ parents?” Cilan perked up, feeling newfound curiosity fill him “But why exactly?”

While many, including Professor Oak were taken aback by such casual encouragement for murder, Delia frowned. Maybe it was her mother instinct, but the way Chatter spoke didn’t sit right with her. More precisely, there was something about James’ parents that didn’t sit right with her. Maybe she could ask Ash about it since Team Rocket is after him constantly.

“S-shoot? Like, with a gun?” Yolanda repeated as she couldn’t believe her ears. Meanwhile Tracey turned to look at his friends.

“Are James’ parents that awful?” He questioned.

"Shooting might be an overkill, but James' parents are...a lot." Brock admitted.

"They see no issue marrying their son to a mad woman." Misty added, shuddering at the memory of Jessebelle chasing them in desperate need to find James.

Tracey nodded, turning his attention back to the screen.

[Anyway, let’s introduce them briefly.] Chatter said, and Team Rocket Trio’s group photo was replaced by Jessie [First of all, Jessie. The spitfire. The world keeps pushing her down, but she still keeps going. Hopefully the fortune could give her a little victory every once in a while.]

Jessie, who had been stretching Meowth’s mouth during the fight, blinked at suddenly being mentioned.

“Who are you calling a spitfire!? And act like I’m some kind of punching bag of the world!” She yelled in annoyance.

“I don’t know, it does kind of fit, doesn’t it?” James pointed out, “Like, you’re always ready to face the world no matter what it throws at us.”

“Wobbuffet!” Wobbuffet agreed(?).

“A spitfire might be a kind of downplayed description.” Misty deadpanned, “I’d say she’s more like a wicked fire demon.”

“I do admit that she’s determined, yet also fierce.” Brock commented.

“Maybe too fierce.” Tracey added, making Ash chuckle.

“Truly, your previous trainer seems like an interesting person. I wonder if she still has Wobbuffet” A trainer called Benny wondered aloud to his Lickilicky, who in typical fashion, really didn’t pay attention as it cared more about finishing its meal.

At one Pokemon Center a certain Blissey made a sad noise, staring at the screen longingly.

“What’s wrong Blissey? Do you want me to turn it off?” Nurse Joy asked “I mean, wasn’t she that mean lady who-”

But Blissey shook her head firmly, standing in front of the computer protectively, making Nurse Joy somewhat confused by all of it.

“What in the world has gotten into you?”

[Now let’s keep this short and go to the next one.] Gossip said, and Jessie’s photo was switched with James’ [James. The sensitive and oddball member of the group. Despite everything, he has a good heart deep down.]

The man in question blinked at his description. Oddball? He didn't really feel that odd. In fact, it was Jessie and Meowth who were the odd ones.

Meanwhile Jessie and Meowth remembered his precious bottle cap collection. And the fact that half of his Pokemon had a habit of attacking from sheer affection. And his wardrobe.

So yeah, maybe he was a little oddball.

At Brock’s home, the older teens looked at each other.

“You know, they got a point, James is probably the nicest out of the Team Rocket.” Ash said.

“Not that any of them are that evil in the beginning. Just annoying at worst.” Misty admitted.

“At least they have a loving relationship with their Pokemon.” Tracey said “According to studies about Victreebels, they chomp the person they’re extremely attached to. And that’s what James’ Victreebel did, right?”

“It did. Kind of like Ash’s Bayleef tackles him.” Brock pointed out.

Ash sighed fondly as he remembered his overly affectionate grass type “At least Bayleef’s affection doesn’t include biting, nor being hugged by spikes.”

In Sinnoh, more precisely on Eterna City's grass-type gym, a certain Cacnea let out a joyful cry, almost knocking the gym leader's laptop off the table as it latched onto it. Despite this and other Pokemon's agitated cries, Gardenia didn't get mad.

"You miss him a lot, don't you?" She commented sadly as Cacnea's cry became somber, staring at the photo streamers that had put on "I wonder if there's any way to contact him…"

In the Kanto region, a certain elderly couple wondered this too as they listened to a Chimencho left in their care make sad noises at the screen. Even more when Gossip replaced the picture of James with a photo of Meowth.

The streamers then switched James’ photo with Meowth’s [And last but not least Meowth, one of the world's few non-legendary, non-mythic Pokemon who can talk human language. And without telepathy, so good for him.] Chatter said.

[And before you ask, he taught himself to talk, though it cost him a few skills as a process.] Gossip added.

In general, there were two reactions to this introduction.

“There’s a talking Meowth!?” Was the reaction of people who didn’t know this fact.

“Oh yeaah, that Meowth talked. Huh, odd that I really didn’t think it was weird.” Was the reaction of those who had met Meowth, most of them confused by their previous indifference.

“You know, I never really thought why Meowth can talk.” Ash said aloud to his friends.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t either. Nor did Brock.” Misty added “I think Tracey was the only one who reacted.”

“Guilty as charged.” The assistant said sheepishly, earning a chuckle out of them.

“Big brother, do you think Ludicolo could learn to talk?” Yolanda asked, but Brock just shrugged his shoulders.

“Maybe, but only if it wants to. I bet it took a lot of time and dedication from Meowth to learn.”

“Huh, so he’s self-taught?” Professor Oak said with mild interest “And here I was wondering who managed to teach a Pokemon to talk. But instead it’s something much more interesting.”

“How come?” Delia asked curiously.

“It creates a question: why would a Pokemon want to learn to talk? Why would it dedicate its time to learn such a skill?”

And Professor Oak wasn’t the only one thinking this. Other professors and Pokemon researchers who were watching the stream were all thinking similarly, many hoping to meet Meowth again just to ask it why.

Meanwhile, Meowth sighed in relief when the streamers didn’t go into details about why he learned to talk. Should he try to request that they skip it? The idea of showing the whole world how he got rejected by his first love feels so embarrassing…

[We probably talk about those three later on, but let’s discuss other people in Ash’s life. There’s Professor Oak. You know, the famous Pokemon researcher who is admired by many.] Gossip said, changing the photo. Chatter let out an unimpressed huff.

[Who gave Ash the shittiest Pokedex ever, seriously it couldn’t even tell him what Haunter and Gengar were. HAUNTER AND GENGAR! Seriously, what kind of Pokemon Professor doesn’t know what two out of three Kanto’s ghost type Pokemon are?!]

Gary spluttered out, and soon enough, he was laughing loudly enough to scare any curious wild Pokemon away, mostly because he couldn’t help but imagine the face his grandfather was making.

Delia tried to keep her face neutral, but then started giggling.

“They’re really letting you have it Professor…” She then turned to look at him and found him grimacing “Professor, what’s wrong? Did they offend you that badly?”

“No, but they reminded me of my past stumble. And now the whole world will know about it!”

“Past stumble?”

“You know how I use Professor Westwood’s Pokemon entries in Pokedexes?”

“Yes?”

“So, right before Ash and Gary were meant to start their journeys, we were upgrading the previous incorrect entries. Basically, they were getting a new version of Pokedex.”

“Go on...”

"I mayyyy have giventhemPokedexeswith20%ofdatamissing."

"...WHAT!?" Delia shouted, offended for her son's sake. Professor Oak waved his hands defensively "Look, Delia, I didn't realize it until my grandson complained that his Dex didn't have information about Golduck. And I upgraded them immediately after that."

Delia gave him an unimpressed look before sighing in defeat "That does sound like something you would do…"

“To be honest, the true technical evolution with Pokedexes happened only recently.” Professor Kukui defended the famous researcher “And it’s possible Professor Oak knew the information but hadn’t uploaded the data in Ash’s Pokedex.”

“But isn’t that kind of reckless to give a Pokedex that is missing the necessary information?” Faba pointed out.

“Hm, that’s true too.”

“Knowing my cousin, he just forgot to check that Pokedexes had all they needed.” Principal Oak chuckled.

“Pokedexes...when we first started as trainers, there weren’t even any Pokedexes; those came a little bit later.” Steven commented.

“Oh yes, before that we had books and cards.” Wallace said nostalgically “It was such pain when they got soaked.”

“It truly was…and now most trainers have Pokedexes and Rotom phones, truly, technology is quickly evolving.”

“Hopefully not too quick.”

“Hah, back when I started, there were only books about Pokemon. And you had to memorize them if you didn’t want to carry a dozen of those on your backpack.” Lt. Surge reminisced to Visquez, who nodded happily.

“I used to collect those Pokedex cards that you could buy from the general stores.”

“Oh yeah, aren’t they still making them? Maybe I should by some…”

[Speaking of Oaks, there's another one who might pop up occasionally.]

Chatter commented, and suddenly there was a photo of a young brown-haired trainer.

[This is Ash's former rival Gary, Professor Oak’s grandson.] Chatter declared [Gary was a dick. Then he got his ass humbled a couple of times and was less of a dick. The end.]

The young Pokemon researcher in question almost choked on spit as he heard his rather... on-point description, almost dropping his tablet in the process.

"...Well, I won't deny that wasn't the case." He said to his Umbreon and Blastoise before groaning "But did they have to say it aloud?" 

Around the world, those who knew Gary were taken aback by Chatter's words. Or more precisely, those who knew him as Pokemon researcher were taken aback.

"But Professor Oak's grandson is such a nice boy..." Professor Cerise said aloud to his workers before admitting "Then again, people tend to change."

"I don't know, I can see their point." Goh commented from his seat. At the beginning, Gary had teased him quite a lot. Or maybe he had acted like that because of Goh's own behavior. Chloe looked at him in slight concern, but relaxed when he gave her a reassuring smile.

At the Pallet Town, Professor Oak chuckled at his grandson's description, and even Delia couldn't help but giggle.

"Didn't he travel around Kanto with a bunch of cheerleaders? Where did he even get them?" She asked. Professor Oak scratched his chin.

"Come to think of it, I never asked. Then again, I never really questioned his car either. Thankfully, losing in the league got rid of some of that arrogance."

Meanwhile, Ash, Brock, and Misty were laughing as memories of THE Gary Oak flashed in their minds. The one who would drive around the Kanto with a bunch of fan girls.

“How did he even afford all the stuff? The car? The hotel on Cinnabar Island?” Misty wondered aloud.

“He couldn’t.” Tracey spoke up, gaining others' attention “His family had to pay some of his expenses. Not Professor Oak, of course, because that would’ve been favoritism.”

“How do you know that?” Ash asked.

“I talk with him sometimes. Mostly it’s about the research, but sometimes it’s about our past travels. Gary wanted me to make sure that rookie trainers don’t repeat the dumb stuff he did.” Tracey explained

“Oh, that makes sense.” The young champion said. Come to think of it, what would he say to rookie trainers? Don’t oversleep on your first day as a trainer, perhaps? But that gave him Pikachu, whom he wouldn't trade for the world…

[And last but definitely not least.] Gossip declared, and yet again the photo was changed, this time being a youthful-looking woman [This is Ash's mom, Delia Ketchum. Hopefully, she isn’t watching this. And if she is, we hope her heart can handle all the possible close calls we're about to see.]

Delia, who was first rather flattered over a good picture they had chosen of her, frowned in concern over the word choice. Close calls? But then again, it made sense. Her son had told her about his journeys, and she had also the honor to witness the said adventures. And not all of those were joy rides.

‘Whatever I will see, I must be prepared.’

“Mom…” Ash said aloud, feeling previous mirth disappear as it was replaced by a twist in his stomach. Sure, he had told her about his journeys, but at the same time, he felt like she would give him a scolding of a lifetime for endangering himself so often.

“Oh my, I’m in danger Pikachu.” Ash lamented.

“Pikaaa…” His partner replied in agreement.

[There! Now we can truly start!] Gossip said proudly.

[But the question remains, where should we start? I really wanna show Maiden Peak, but maybe that's too soon] Chatter commented

[Yeah, and it's not like we can go straight to the clone's identity crisis, that time the collector almost destroyed the world, or the little girl's fantasy.] Their co-host pointed out with a slight chuckle.

As Chatter laughed with them, the viewers were left confused by their words. Identity crisis? Collector?

"Little girl's fantasy...wait, could they be referring to Molly?" Misty pointed out to her friends.

"You mean Professor Hale's daughter?" Tracey clarified, and she nodded, making him gasp from understanding "That Unown incident in Greenfield a few years ago!"

"Big bro, what incident?" Forrest asked Brock, and as he started quickly summarizing what had happened in Greenfield, Ash and Pikachu listened to Gossip's and Chatter's discussion.

They mentioned the lighthouse, meeting pink Pokemon, witnessing ancient evil, dealing with gym leaders, baby legendaries, getting trapped on a sinking ship, frozen Piloswine, solving adults' problems from them in general...the list went on.

Like heck, Ash hadn’t really thought his adventures he experienced during his journeys were that unique or memorable. Yet the way these two discussed them, they sounded like once-in-a-lifetime events.

"Pikapi?" His thoughts were interrupted by Pikachu, who was staring at him in slight concern

"It's nothing. I just thought about how much we have been through in our journeys. Can't believe it was only us at first, me dragging you along on a rope." Ash commented, earning a sheepish look from his partner as he also remembered their rough start. Hopefully, Gossip and Chatter didn't show that. They did say they aren’t cruel enough to show his worst moments.

Speaking of the streamers, they had seemingly come to some kind of conclusion.

[-maybe we should pick something from the beginning, hm...how about Charmander episode? That teaches an important lesson, though we might need to blur that one asshole out. Or Moon Stone?] Chatter suggested. 

[Sounds great! So, vote now, our dear audience, Moon Stone or Charmander? Pick your choice in the chat. You have 5 minutes. And no, we won't reveal details. Mostly 'cus we're dicks.]

And suddenly, there was a chat in the corner. And soon enough, messages started pouring in rapidly, people demanding answers that the pair refused to give.

Not that Ash and his oldest companions cared as they stared at the two opinions.

"Moon Stone is when we met Clefairy!" Ash realized.

"Oh yeah, and I caught Zubat!" Brock added, wondering if he should call Crobat to watch too.

"Still, are we seriously going to see ourselves?" Misty questioned aloud before lamenting "Oh no, what if I look like an unkempt scarecrow?!"

"So basically what you usually look like." Ash quipped in without a thought, and before he would regret what he said, she turned to look at him with a fierce glare that held no malice.

"Says the guy who didn't even know the difference between washing powder and fabric softener. Honestly, I bet you didn't even wash your clothes during the whole Masters Eight Tournament."

"Of course I did my laundry! Pikachu can prove it-" as Ash and Misty started to squabble playfully, Tracey looked at Brock and his two siblings.

"What should we choose? I'm personally kind of torn since Charmander one tells how Ash caught Charizard, but as Professor Oak's assistant, Moon Stone also sounds interesting."

"I wanna see Charmander!" Yolanda shouted.

"Do all of you agree?" Tracey asked, and as the siblings nodded ”Oh, that was an easy choice then.”

"Whoa, that was fast." Sonia commented as Leon had already moved from his spot next to Hop to vote for the Charmander episode before Gossip even finished their sentence.

"Of course. With Charizard as my partner, how could I choose anything else?" He pointed out, and the Charizard in question hummed happily.

"I wonder how many have a hard time choosing.” Hop wondered aloud.

“Pick a hand.” Dawn said to her Piplup while holding out her hands. After some thinking, it picked her left hand “Okay, Moon Stone it is.”

"All right." Cythia said after voting for Moon Stone and settling back down "To be honest, I don't think I mind seeing Charmander one either."

"Me neither." Iris said "Like, Ash told me about his Charizard, but it would still be cool to see how they actually show it.”

”That’s true. Though I’m still curious how this all works.” Diatha commented.

Team Rocket trio stared at each other with dread.

"...our boss might be watching this." Meowth pointed out.

"Watching us fail miserably." James added “Didn’t we like... run away from that Charmander?”

"...Let's go with Moon Stone." Jessie decided, her Wobbuffet shouting in the background as agreement.

"I guess I'll go with Moon Stone." Cilan muttered to himself absent-mindedly.

"I was actually interested in how Ash got all the Kanto starters. Especially since the reason he got Pikachu in the first place was 'cus he slept in!" Gary laughed to Umbreon and Blastoise, the Kantonian starter in question chuckling alongside its trainer.

”Reggie, can we vote for Charmander?” Paul asked somewhat awkwardly, and his brother smiled.

”Of course.”

Professor Kukui sighed at the chaos in front of him. His students overall got along well and were really responsible for their ages.

But sometimes different opinions did bring out other sides of people.

"Moon Stone!" Yelled Lillie, Sophocles, Lana.

"Charmander!" Kiawe, Mallow, and Gladion(???) shouted back.

"Moon Stone!"

"Charmander!"

"MOON STONE!"

"CHARMANDER!"

"Does it even matter? They probably "show" both either way." Faba commented dryly.

"Well, it's a matter of principle." Principal Oak laughed while Wicke sighed next to him.

"Indeed. How about we flip a coin?"

"That sounds great!" Professor Burnet agreed, and her husband was already picking the said coin.

"Okay, heads for Moon Stone, tails for Charmander." He declared, and the adults nodded. He flipped the coin, and it landed on-

"- heads, so I guess Moon Stone it is." Steven commented casually. Wallace sighed in defeat.

Max and Serena cheered when the coin landed on tails, and May just sighed in defeat.

And during all of this, Gossip and Chatter just stared curiously at how the voting kept shifting, people commenting rapidly on the chat.

[Damn, still can't understand where you all came from. Unless you're like bots or something. Should we hire moderators?] Gossip questioned Chatter, who managed to look thoughtful despite the bucket on their head.

[Maybe it's for the best. Then again, we can just be dicks and answer those who give us money.]

[Hey, hey, we shouldn’t make money over Ash’s life.] Gossip chastised.

[Were about to reveal his past to people. Even if we censor shit and tell people not to start man hunts, we’re kind of awful already.]

[Hm, that’s true...]

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The results were in.